First of all, I haven't paid much attention or cared much about this stuff; I really have very little knowledge of it. So obviously that's a good part of the reason why I don't understand it. But off the top of my head, here are my thoughts on these "occupy" protests:1. It seems like here in Boston a large number of the protesters are college students. Right off the bat I think being a college student eliminates you from being "oppressed." You have opportunity and education and a future to do whatever you want with.
2. Even if you're not a student, you're still living in a country that allows you to do whatever you want. If you don't like your job and don't think you make enough money, then go get a different one. Make some choices. Take some responsibility for your own situation. Do you really think you'd be leading a totally different life if you paid a little less in taxes?
3. How is standing in the street going to accomplish anything? My guess is the only result is that it pisses off other regular people who would like to use the street.
My understanding is it's not really about "opression", it's about getting the national focus onto jobs creation and drawing attention to the fact that the people most responsible for our economic issues (banks and rich folk) are continuing to increase their wealth while a lot of the rest of the country is suffering. The protests have actually been fairly successful, in that they've increased news coverage of job while decreasing discussion of the inane debt/deficit nonsense.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the last stat I saw said there were at least 8 applicants for every job available in the US, so just picking up to go get a different job isn't a realistic option for a lot of people.